Tropical plant ecophysiology has achieved the stature of a mature scientific discipline and with this maturity comes a new sense of purpose. The 21 chapters of this book synthesize the major developments in the field during the last ten years. Most of these developments have been directly linked to technological advances that have brought the study of physiological ecology out of the laboratory and into the hot humid buggy forest. Applications of pressure-volume techniques initially developed for desert species are giving us new insights into the importance of seasonal drought stress for species of evergreen tropical forests (Chapter 7). Scaling up carbon gain and water flux from individual leaves to whole trees and stands an unthinkable exercise 15 years ago is now an attainable goal (Chapter 4). About the Author Alan Paul Smith bringing to a close a remarkable career in plant ecology. Alans contributions began in high school when he and a companion carried out a biological inventory of wetlands near Madison New Jersey in a successful effort to acquire funding to set aside the area as a nature preserve. Over the next thirty years Alans research programs expanded to be truly global in scope. His dissertation on tropical alpine plants was completed at Duke under W. D. Billings and included study sites in Central and South America Hawaii New Guinea and Mount Kenya Alans later research included African savannas Panamanian forests and mountain ranges on two continents. Along the way he was an inspiration and a consistently positive force for all of the students and field assistants lucky enough to cross his path. His important contributions to the literature are many but he will perhaps be remembered most for his insightful views of tree biomechanics and the unique long-term studies of his beloved tropical alpine rosette plants. Alans research on rainforest plants over the last decade at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama was among the most ambitious and multifaceted programs in tropical plant ecology. His visionary approach included the development of a new canopy photo analysis system experimental tree falls and most recently a costruction crane for access to the upper canopy. From the demography of the smallest herb in a Smoky Mountain cove forest to the physiology of a rainforest giant Alans curiosity and enthusiasm were boundless.